I Got My Rebate Money Back
I'll make this short:
- I bought a HP Pavilion laptop from Office Depot in July 2006, when they advertised it at $499 after rebates.
- I send out the three rebate forms (two to HP, one to Office Depot) the day I got the machine.
- By mid November, I have not received my rebate check from Office Depot.
- I went into the store, and asked someone there, who showed me a website where I can just type in my name to see how my rebate is doing. It showed that the rebate has just been mailed the day before.
- However, I received the check only two weeks ago in early December.
Not knowing how the rebate industry worked, I cannot draw any conclusions. But somehow I have a feeling that had I not checked, I would never have gotten my money back.
Re: I Got My Rebate Money Back
Re: I Got My Rebate Money Back
Re: I Got My Rebate Money Back
Part of me thinks there is no way that you only get your rebate if you inquire about it but the other part knows that I've never received a rebate check that I had forgotten about. This is odd considering the number of rebated items I've purchased over the past 10 or so years.
Like several of you, I have utilized those sites before and instead of getting "the check is in the mail", i've instead got "processing". Not sure what there is to process. They open the envelope containing all the fragments of reality required to obtain the golden carrot and say go(i.e. indicate that the check be mailed). I'm not a fan of the rebate, I find it insulting as a customer when I buy something at best buy but then have to send the rebate info to best buy. It's not fun when it is a manufacturer rebate but when it is to the store you just bought the item from, it is just plain rude.
Re: I Got My Rebate Money Back
To be honest, I don't know how the rebate industry works. I have received many rebate checks without me checking websites. Usually by the time I receive the rebate, I have forgotten about the purchase. I have also experienced not receiving them. Usually by the time I realized it, I can't recall whether I mailed the thing in. So I just let it slip.
This time things are different. Number one, the amount is big. Number two, I blogged about the purchase, so I know by mid November that it has been four months since the purchase date, that's more than the usual processing time allowance for most of the rebates I've seen. Number three, I've heard Brian's stories about them mailing out the checks only if you check there websites.
So I went to the store and checked. And when the clerk told me that the website showed that the check was mailed out the day before, I'm convinced of Brian's theory.
Although at a certain level, I still doubt the theory. E.g., I can't believe that our friends working in the rebate fulfillment industry (no doubt the number one revenue generator in Young America, MN) would stoop so low as to write "if (!hasCustommerChecked()) { doNothing(); }".
But it never hurts to check.